Odisha To Formulate Policy For Proper Management Of Minor Minerals

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will formulate a more progressive policy for sustainable and disciplined supply of minor minerals for public, private and industrial use.

Briefing mediapersons after presiding over a meeting at the Lok Seva Bhawan here on Saturday, Chief Secretary Askit Tripathy said the state government has set up a separate directorate for the regulation of minor minerals like sand, moram, cheap etc.

Stating that these sairat (mineral) sources are presently managed and monitored by the respective tehsildars under the direct supervision of the district administration, he said the state government had sent study teams to Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana and Karnataka for a field-level knowledge of the practices adopted there. The teams collected details about demand-supply management, auction process excavation, supply chain, price capping, end-use etc.

“The study teams have presented their reports today. These reports will be further analysed and customised in the context of Odisha. The inputs will be helpful in the formulation of a more dynamic and need-based policy,” he pointed out.

Additional Chief Secretary Steel & Mines, Raj Kumar Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary and Agriculture Production Commissioner Pradipta Mohapatra, members of the study team and senior officials of Revenue & Disaster Management Department participated in the deliberations.